ROARING RIVER (GRANITE LAKES LOOP)
WHERE: From Portland take I205 South to highway 224 East. Follow 224 about 30 miles to Ripplebrook ranger station: There is currently a detour right after the ranger station where you take a left and follow the FR 57 detour signs. When roadwork is done just follow FR 57 east which picks up near Ripplebrook campground down the road. Follow forest service road 58 north to FSR 5830 where you will take a left and follow to Hideaway Lake and the Shellrock Lake trailhead. I took a different road which led to a very rough 4 mile road ending at Frazier Turnaround so the climb to the granite lakes loop is just directions based on map and not a trail description.
THE TRAIL: Follow Shellrock lake trail up 2.5 miles and approximately 500 feet (according to a bad forest map) in elevation to trail 517 (1/4 mile from Frazier Turnaround) which is part of the Granite Lakes loop. Going counter clockwise on the loop you will travel 2.3 miles to Cache Meadow. Stay on trail 517 at a junction (a right) with trail 702. The meadow begins at this junction and is a very beautiful meadow with lots of huckleberry bushes. The trail stays in the forest with about a twenty foot buffer between the meadow. Please do not walk on the meadow as there are a couple of trails that cross already and any area that is trampled on can take a long time to recover. The next segment of the trail goes 1.9 miles consisting of about 1/2 mile along a ridgetop offering access to a few nice viewpoints of Mt. Hood. At the 1.9 mile mark you will intersect trail 512 to Serenity Lake and Granite Lakes. Follow this trail to Serene Lake (1 mile) where there are a couple of very nice campsites (unfortunately a nice campsite can mean well traveled with left over garbage). One person left a small cache of supplies including a tarp, hand made axe (from branch and stone, and nicely made at that), and an MRE (military "Meal Ready to Eat" BIVOUC meal). The axe had a date written on it which was dated for the weekend 4 days before I did the hike implying that he would be back this weekend and that maybe this place attracts the less carefull backpackers that non-wilderness areas attract (based on a slight mess at two nearby camp sites) but not too often as ones gear seems to be safe. I enjoyed a campsite near a rock ledge at the end of lake side trail. The lake's name "Serene Lake" is appropriate. It is large enough to feel secluded from the other side clear enough to see the granite rocks clearly 15 feet below near the shore and protected enough from wind to remain serene. Follow another 2 miles to Granite Lakes. There are two spur trails (one on both sides of trail 512) leading to either upper or lower granite lake. I visited the upper lake which is the last spur that you will encounter going counter-clockwise. This lake, in contrast to Serene Lake, is very muddy and more shallow with many trees and many salamanders swimming about. There are also many large huckleberries and blueberries to be found along the trail especially near the lakes and along streambeds. Another 1 mile will bring you to Frazier turnaround. Head to the top of the turnaround where you will see a sign for trail #517 to Cache Meadow: Follow this to trail 517 heading back down to your car.